Security

Wheels

The vehicle information above was correct at time of manufacture. Please speak to the dealership for full current specification.

Technical specification

Emissions

CO2 (g/km)

154

Standard Euro Emissions

EURO 4

Engine and Drive Train

Camshaft

DOHC

Catalytic Convertor

True

CC

1390

Cylinder Layout

IN-LINE

Cylinders

4

Cylinders - Bore (mm)

76.5

Cylinders - Stroke (mm)

75.6

Engine Layout

FRONT TRANSVERSE

Fuel Delivery

MULTI POINT FUEL INJECTION

Gears

5 SPEED

Number of Valves

16

Transmission

MANUAL

Fuel Consumption

EC Combined (mpg)

43.5

EC Directive 1999/100/EC Applies

True

EC Extra Urban (mpg)

54.3

EC Urban (mpg)

32.8

General

Badge Engine CC

1.4

Badge Power

85

Coin Series

S

Insurance Group 1

4

Insurance Group 1 - 50 Effective January 07

8E

Insurance Group 2

E

Manufacturers Corrosion Perforation Guarantee - Years

12

Manufacturers Paintwork Guarantee - Years

3

EURO NCAP Front and Side Impact test - Star Rating.

9

EURO NCAP Pedestrian test - Star Rating.

9

Standard manufacturers warranty - Mileage

60000

Standard manufacturers warranty - Years

3

Vehicle Homologation Class

M1

Performance

Engine Power - BHP

85

Engine Power - KW

63

Engine Power - PS

True

Tyres

Space Saver?

True

Tyre Size Front

195/55 R15

Tyre Size Rear

195/55 R15

Tyre Size Spare

SPACE SAVER

Wheel Type

15" STEEL

Vehicle Dimensions

Height

1449

Length

4309

Wheelbase

2578

Width

1768

Weight and Capacities

Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres)

55

Luggage Capacity (Seats Up)

341

No. of Seats

5

The vehicle information above was correct at time of manufacture. Please speak to the dealership for full current specification.

Independent review

Review courtesy of Car and Driving

SEAT Leon

BY ANDY ENRIGHT

Introduction

Although the British public hasn't warmed to this version of the SEAT Leon in quite the way they did its predecessor, there's little doubt that it's a very competent car and one that's well worth tracking down on the used market. Reluctant take up from new often spells used bargains and this Leon is an excellent example of these market forces at work.

History

It's no exaggeration to say that the MK1 SEAT Leon, especially in Cupra guise, developed into a cult car in the UK. I can remember that this car was my pat answer for a good few years for any of my colleagues looking to spend around £15k on a new car. Unfortunately, I've never come close to that stage with the Leon's second generation iteration, launched in this country in late 2005. Although there is very little wrong with the car in an objective sense, the styling didn't cut the mustard for many and the value proposition no longer seemed quite so special with Skoda having upped its game. Cars like the Renaultsport Megane and the Ford Focus ST arrived to rule the hot hatch roost and standard Focus models as well as increasingly aggressively priced Golfs make big numbers among the family hatches at the Leon's expense. Competition even came from within SEAT with quick and capable Altea models more than justifying their existence.
SEAT took their eye off the ball rather by failing to launch a sporty FR model until July 2006 and delaying the launch of the red hot Cupra variant until December 2006. Quite why it took them so long to bring these key models to market (the old Cupra accounted for over half of all UK Leon sales) is down to VW Group internal politics but it robbed the model of crucial momentum and both the FR and Cupra were unfairly overlooked when they did arrive.
In the Spring of 2008, SEAT introduced the 122bhp 1.4-litre TSI turbocharged petrol engine in to the range. Then a facelift was introduced the summer of 2009 which involved a redesign of the lights and front bumper, improved trim materials and an enlarged rear windscreen to improve visibility. The 2.0-litre TDI 170 FR model got a common-rail diesel engine in place of the old direct injection unit.

What You Get

It's worth reminding ourselves what a SEAT Leon actually is. We've become very taken with hotter Cupra versions of the Leon over the years, but Britain is a special case, and in mainland Europe, it's the more prosaic models that plump up SEAT's profit margins. Therefore, there's a slight disconnect between how we perceive the Leon and how our European neighbours do. To us, a Leon is a snorting hot hatch that offers terrific value for money and Germanic build quality all wrapped up with a strong sporting pedigree. Think Jason Plato doorhandling Yvan Muller out of the way in his SEAT touring car. That's only a small segment of what the Leon represents to SEAT. In reality, it must go head to head with some of the class best in the shape of the Ford Focus, the Vauxhall Astra, the Renault Megane and the Honda Civic.
Therefore it was with some disappointment that the first pictures of the 'cooking' Leon models dropped across my desk sometime in 2005. There had already been quite some controversy at how similar looking the Altea and Toledo models were, and now here was another model that would require serious scrutiny to establish exactly what SEAT we were dealing with. To make things worse, it wasn't clear exactly what advantage a Leon had over an Altea. All three cars were born from the same Salsa concept car under the aegis of SEAT design chief Steve Lewis and all three, rather unsurprisingly, run on the same platform. Although the tape measure shows that the new Leon is only around an inch taller than its predecessor, the base models have a definite MPV look and feel to them. It's only with the sportier FR and Cupra models that the Leon begins to look convincingly racy. Perhaps that was the point.

What You Pay

Refer to Car & Driving for an exact up-to-date valuation section. Click here and we will email it to you.

What to Look For

Tried and tested engines, the VW-standard quality auditing and an inherent feeling of solidity all bode well for the Leon's reliability. Having been on sale for such a short duration, it's perhaps inevitable that no major faults have emerged, but watch out for neglected ex-hire cars. The Leon is a car where the price differences between good and bad examples aren't too great, so be fussy. Look for a fully stamped up service history and reject anything that looks in any way tatty, grubby or vaguely dog-eared. Give FR and Cupra models a particularly detailed inspection and ensure that they've been run in quality synthetic oil.

Replacement Parts

(approx based on an Leon 2.0 TDI DSG ex VAT) SEAT spares are reasonably priced, with a replacement Leon headlamp costing £111. A replacement alternator unit retails at around £185 with an exchange starter motor setting you back just under £120. Opt for a new alternator and starter motor and the prices stack up at £370 and £226 respectively, so even if the old one is a steaming basket case, you'll save by getting an exchange unit. Front brake pads are £50 with rears a tad under £30 per pair. Many parts are a little cheaper for the 1.6-litre petrol models.

On the Road

Underscoring SEAT's broad targeting of the Leon, the range includes a number of engine choices. Diesel buyers will get to choose between a 103bhp 1.9-litre unit that's a little old fashioned and a 138bhp 2.0-litre that most certainly isn't. The petrol powerplants open with a 101bhp 1.6-litre and a 148bhp 2.0-litre direct injection FSI but, to be frank, if you're going to opt for these engines, the Altea makes a smarter purchase. Move up the power table and the Leon starts to make all sorts of sense and SEAT wisely earmarked three engines to cope for us British bhp junkies.
First up is the 168bhp TDI diesel, while those looking for a seriously sporting drive will opt for the 200bhp FR model with its turbocharged 2.0-litre FSI engine or the 240bhp Cupra which used a tweaked version of that unit. SEAT worked hard at improving the chassis dynamics and benchmarked the best handling cars in the class. Given that the basic underpinnings are shared with the MkV Volkswagen Golf, it's made of stern stuff. Factor in an additional aluminium subframe for added rigidity and stiffer suspension and you've got a package that's significantly more able in the twisties than the previous generation car with its rather rudimentary torsion beam rear suspension.

Overall

The SEAT Leon is an extremely competent vehicle hobbled by rather unusual styling and SEAT's decision to delay the launch of the much-vaunted hot models. It's still worth taking a long, hard look at on the used market and the 2.0-litre TDI Sport model remains the pick of the bunch. If you can get along with the looks, a late plate Cupra makes a very smart piece of business in the face of new rivals.

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Our star ratings explained

Nothing provides a clearer picture of how good our customer service is than direct undiluted feedback from real customers. That’s why we use the Arnold Clark Star Rating system. This gives each dealership a regularly assessed rating out of 5 that you can see at a glance. Here’s how it works.

The Star Rating is based on an email survey that we ask customers to complete 10 days after they have taken delivery of their vehicle. The Survey then needs to be returned to us within 14 days. To ensure that results are founded on a good number of current responses, we update Star Ratings every month, based on the previous four months of completed Surveys.

So if you were to look at our current dealership Star Ratings they would be based on feedback from 49,339 customers who bought their vehicle between 1st June to 30th September 2016, providing an average score across our dealerships of 95.3% and a Star Rating of 4.8 out of 5. A group of customers this size gives you an accurate and credible picture of customer service at Arnold Clark, delivered by the people best placed to evaluate it.